Remote device infrastructure

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are systems and methods for enabling a developer to use a local browser, running on a local machine of the developer in a first location to access real devices (e.g., smart phones) at a second location, such as a data center. The developer can select and control the remote devices, in the second location. The described embodiments can capture developer&#39;s inputs from the first location and input them to the remote device in the second location. A video stream of the remote device is transmitted to the browser in the first location and displayed in a replica canvas on the developer&#39;s browser. The developer can interact with the canvas on his/her browser, as if the remote device were present in the first location.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/955,811, filed Sep. 29, 2022, which in turn claims priority to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/590,812, filed Feb. 1, 2022, bothapplications being titled “REMOTE DEVICE INFRASTRUCTURE” and both ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties andshould be considered a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND Field

This invention relates generally to the field of enabling a remotedevice infrastructure for multiple remote hardware and softwareplatforms, and more particularly to systems and methods for providing aseamless mirroring between a remote device and a developer's localmachine.

Description of the Related Art

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could bepursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previouslyconceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it shouldnot be assumed that any of the approaches described in this sectionqualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in thissection.

The multitude of computers, mobile devices and platforms have givenbusinesses and consumers a vast array of options when they choose adevice. The plethora of choices include both hardware and software.Naturally, software, application and website developers have a keeninterest in ensuring their products work seamlessly across the existinghardware and platforms, including older devices on the market. Thiscreates a challenge for the developers to properly test their productson the potential devices and platforms that their target consumer mightuse. On the one hand, acquiring and configuring multiple potentialtarget devices can strain the resources of a developer. On the otherhand, the developer may not want to risk losing a potential marketsegment by disregarding a particular platform in his typical developmentcycle. Even for prominent platforms, such as iOS® and Android®, at anygiven time, there are multiple generations and iterations of thesedevices on the market, further complicating the development and testingprocess across multiple platforms. Even in a given platform, a varietyof software, operating systems and browser applications are used by apotential target audience of a developer. This dynamic illustrates aneed for a robust infrastructure that enables developers to test theirproducts across multiple devices and platforms, without having topurchase or configure multiple devices and platforms.

SUMMARY

The appended claims may serve as a summary of this application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These drawings and the associated description herein are provided toillustrate specific embodiments of the invention and are not intended tobe limiting.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example remote test system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of an example data flow implementation ofthe embodiment of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart of a method of enabling a remote sessionat a first location using a remote device at a second location.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method of an example operation of aremote test system.

FIG. 5 illustrates another flowchart of a method of an example operationof the remote system.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example environment within which some describedembodiments can be implemented.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example data flow diagram of the operations of aninfrastructure enabling a remote session using a remote device, using avideo capturing API.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of certain embodiments presentsvarious descriptions of specific embodiments of the invention. However,the invention can be embodied in a multitude of different ways asdefined and covered by the claims. In this description, reference ismade to the drawings where like reference numerals may indicateidentical or functionally similar elements.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein have the same meaning asare commonly understood by one of skill in the art to which thisinvention belongs. All patents, patent applications and publicationsreferred to throughout the disclosure herein are incorporated byreference in their entirety. In the event that there is a plurality ofdefinitions for a term herein, those in this section prevail. When theterms “one”, “a” or “an” are used in the disclosure, they mean “at leastone” or “one or more”, unless otherwise indicated.

Software developers, particularly website, web application and mobiledevice application developers have a desire to manually test theirproducts on a multitude of hardware and software platforms that theirtarget audience may use. A variety of mobile device manufacturersprovide the hardware consumers and businesses use. Examples include,devices manufactured by Apple Inc., Google LLC, Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and others. Similarly, a variety ofoperating systems for consumer electronic devices exist. Examplesinclude Apple iOS®, Android® operating system (OS), and Windows® Mobile,Windows® Phone and others. Furthermore, users have a variety of choicesas far as the web browser application they can use. Examples includeSafari®, Chrome®, FireFox®, Windows Explorer®, and others. This varietyof choice presents a difficult challenge for a web/app developer to testproducts on potential target devices. Traditionally, the developer mighthave to acquire a test device and spend resources configuring it (forexample, by installing a target OS, browser, etc.) as well as asecondary hardware device to connect the test device through thesecondary hardware device to a local machine of the developer, in orderto write code and conduct tests on the test device. The sheer variety ofpossible devices, operating systems, browsers and combinations of themare numerous and can present a logistical hurdle to the developer.

A testing provider can enable a remote test system (RTS), having amultitude of devices for a developer to connect to and conduct tests.The developer can connect to the test system, select a test device,select a configuration (e.g., a particular browser, etc.) and run testsusing the selected remote device. The RTS can include a server poweringa website or a desktop application, which the developer can use tolaunch a dashboard for connecting to the RTS and for conducting tests.The dashboard can include a display of the remote device presented tothe developer. The RTS system can capture developer inputs and inputthem to the remote device. The RTS mirrors the display of the remotedevice on the developer's local machine and simultaneously captures thedeveloper's interactions inputted onto the mirrored display andtransfers those commands to the remote device. In a typical case, thedeveloper can use a keyboard and mouse to input interactions onto themirrored display. When the test device is a smart phone device, the RTSsystem translates those input interactions compatible with the smartphone. Examples of smart phone input interactions include gestures,pinches, swipes, taps, and others. The remote device display is mirroredon the developer's local machine. In this manner, the developer canexperience a seamless interaction with the remote device using thedeveloper's local machine. The RTS can be used both for development oflaunched and unlaunched products.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example RTS 100. Although some embodiments use theRTS 100 in the context of testing and software development, the RTS 100can be used to enable a remote session for any purpose. Testing ismerely provided as an example context of usage area of the system andinfrastructure of the RTS 100. A user 102 uses a local machine 104 tolaunch a browser 106 to access a dashboard application to interact withthe RTS 100, connect to a remote device and to conduct tests on theremote device. In some embodiments, the dashboard website/webapplication may be replaced by a desktop application, which the user 102can install on the local machine 104. The user 102 may be a softwaredeveloper, such as a website developer, web application developer or amobile application developer. The local machine 104, in a typical case,may be a laptop or desktop computer, which the user 102 can use to writesoftware code, debug, or run tests on a website/web application ormobile application. The user 102 can enter a uniform resource locator(URL) 108 in browser 106 to connect to the dashboard application poweredby a server 110. The server 110 can enable the browser 106 and a remotedevice 114 to establish a connection. The RTS 100 can use the connectionfor streaming the display of a remote device 114 onto the browser 106 inorder to mirror the display of the remote device 114 and present it tothe user 102. The RTS 100 can also capture user inputs entered into themirrored display and input them to the remote device 114.

The RTS 100 can include multiple datacenters 112 in various geographicallocations. The datacenters 112 can include a variety of test devices forthe users 102 to connect with and to conduct tests. In this description,the test devices in datacenters 112 are referred to as remote devices114, as they are remote, relative to the user 102 and the user's localmachine 104. A variety of communication networks 116 can be used toenable connection between the browser 106, the server 110 and the remotedevice 114. The remote devices 114 can include various hardwareplatforms, provided by various manufacturers, different versions of eachbrand (for example, old, midmarket, new) and optionally various copiesof each brand, to enable availability for numerous users 102 to connectand conduct tests.

The RTS 100 can use a host 118 connected to one or more remote devices114. In some embodiments, the browser 106 does not directly communicatewith the remote device 114. The host 118 enables communication betweenthe browser 106 and the remote device 114 through one or more privateand/or public communication networks. The host 118 can be a desktop,laptop, or other hardware connected with a wired or wireless connectionto the remote device 114. The hardware used for the host 118 can dependon the type of the remote device 114 that it hosts. Examples of host 118hardware can include Apple Macintosh® computers for iPhone® and iOS®devices and Zotac® for Android® devices.

The RTS 100 mirrors the display of the remote device 114 on the browser106, by generating a display 120 on the browser 106. In someembodiments, the display 120 can be a graphical, or pictorial replicarepresentation of the remote device 114. For example, if an iPhone® 12device is chosen, the display 120 can be an image of an iPhone® 12. TheRTS 100 mirrors the display of the remote device 114 on the display 120by streaming a video feed of the display of the remote device 114 on thedisplay 120. In some embodiments, the video stream used to mirror thedisplay of the remote device 114 is generated by capturing and encodingscreenshots of the display of the remote device 114 into a video streamfeed of high frames per second to give the user 102 a seamlessinteraction experience with the display 120. Using input devices of thelocal machine 104, the user 102 can interact with the display 120, inthe same manner as if the remote device 114 were locally present.

The RTS 100 captures and translates the user interactions to inputcommands compatible with the remote device 114 and inputs the translatedinput commands to the remote device 114. The display responses of theremote device 114 are then streamed to the user 102, via display 120. Insome embodiments, the user 102 has access to and can activate otherdisplays and menu options, such as developer tools display 122. Anexample usage of the RTS 100, from the perspective of the user 102,includes, the user 102, opening a browser on the remote device 114, viamenu options provided by the dashboard application. The user 102 canaccess the dashboard application via the browser 106 on the user's localmachine 104. The RTS 100 opens the user's selected browser on the remotedevice 114 and generates a display of the remote device 114 and theremotely opened browser on the browser 106 on the user's local machine104. The user 102 can then use a mouse to click on a URL field 124 inthe display 120, which corresponds to the URL field in the browser onthe remote device 114. The user 102 can subsequently enter a URL addressin the URL field 124. Simultaneously, the user's interactions, such asmouse clicks and keyboard inputs are captured and translated to theinput commands compatible with the remote device 114 at the datacenter112. For example, the mouse click in the URL field 124 is translated toa tap on the corresponding location on the display of the remote device114 and the keyboard inputs are translated to keyboard inputs of theremote device 114, causing the remote device 114 to open the userrequested URL and download the user requested website. Simultaneously, avideo stream of the display of the remote device 114 is sent to andgenerated on the display 120 on browser 106. In this manner, the userperceives entering a URL in the URL field 124 and seeing the display 120(a replica of the remote device 114) open the requested URL. Additionalinteractions of the user 102 can continue in the same manner. The user102 can use the RTS 100 in the manner described above to perform manualor automated testing.

The display 120 is a pictorial and graphical representation of theremote device 114. The RTS 100 does not open a copy of the browseropened on the remote device 114 or conduct simultaneous parallelprocesses between the remote device 114 and the local machine 106.Instead, the RTS 100 streams a video feed from the remote device 114 togenerate the display 120. Consequently, the user's interactions isinputted to the display 120, appearing as if a functioning browser isreceiving the interactions, while the RTS 100 captures, transfers andtranslates those interactions to the remote device 114, where thefunctioning browser is operating on the remote device 114.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram 200 of an example data flow implementationof the RTS 100. The example shown in FIG. 2 will be described in thecontext of the user 102 requesting to start a remote session. The remotesession can be used for a variety of purposes. In one example, theremote session can be used to test a web application or a website. Theuser launches a dashboard application using the browser 106, running onthe user's local machine 104. The dashboard application can provide menuoptions to the user 102 to choose initial test session parameters,including a type/brand of a test device, operating system, a browserbrand, and an initial test URL to access. The browser 106, running thedashboard application, can generate and send a request 220 for startinga remote session to the server 110. The server 110 can be a central or adistributed server over several geographical locations, enabling accessto the RTS 100 from various locations. The request 220 can includedetails, such as a type/brand of a test device, operating system, abrowser brand, and an initial test URL to access. In response to theuser's request 220, the RTS 100 can select a datacenter 112, a testdevice 114, and can dynamically generate a test session identifier (ID).In some embodiments, a communication network is used to enablecommunication between the browser 106 and the remote device 114. The RTS100 can choose a communication initiation server (CIS) 202 and associatethe test session ID with the CIS 202. The selected CIS 202 can becommunicated to both the browser 106 and the remote device 114, using anidentifier of the selected CIS 202 or a CIS ID. In some embodiments, theCIS 202 can help the browser 106 and the remote device 114 to establisha peer-to-peer (P2P) communication network to directly connect. Othercommunication networks can also be used.

The server 110 can provide initial handshake data to both the remotedevice 114 and the browser 106, in order to establish a communicationnetwork. For example, after choosing the CIS 202 and other initialparameters, the server 110 can issue a start session response 222 to thebrowser 106. The start session response 222 can include details, such asthe test session ID and an identifier of the CIS 202 to be used forestablishing communication. The server 110 can send a session parametermessage (SPM) 224 to the host 118. The SPM 224 can include parameters ofthe test session, such as the CIS ID, selected device ID, test sessionID, browser type, and the requested URL. The host 118 routes the SPM 224via a message 226 to a communication module (CM) 204 of the remotedevice 114. The CM 204 can be a hardware, software or a combinationcomponent of the remote device 114, which can handle the communicationwith the browser 106. Depending on the type of communication network andprotocol used, the structure and functioning of the CM 204 can beaccordingly configured. For example, in some embodiments, the CM 204 canhandle WebRTC messaging, encoding of the screenshots from the remotedevice 114, transmitting them to the browser 106 and handling theinteractions received from the browser 106.

The browser 106, via the start session response 222 receives the CIS 202ID and the test session ID. The CM 204, via the message 226, receivesthe same information. The CM 204 can send a device connection message(DCM) 228 to the CIS 202. The browser 106 can send a browsercommunication message (BCM) 230 to the CIS 202. Both DCM 228 and BCM 230use the same test session ID. Therefore, the CIS 202 can authenticateboth and connect them. Once connected, the browser 106 and the remotedevice 114 can exchange communication data and the routes via which theycan communicate. For example, they can indicate one or more intermediaryservers that may be used to carry on their communication.

In some embodiments, Web real-time communication (WebRTC) can be used toenable communication between the remote device 114 and the browser 106,for example, when the remote device 114 is a smartphone device. In thisscenario, the CM 204 can include, in part, a libjingle module, which canimplement the WebRTC protocol handshake mechanisms in the remote device114. The handshake made available through the CIS 202 allows the remotedevice 114 and the browser 106 to exchange communication data routes andmechanisms, such as traversal using relays around NAT (TURN) servers,session traversal utilities for NAT (STUN) servers, interactiveconnectivity establishment (ICE) candidates, and other communicationnetwork needs. NAT stands for Network Address Translation.

Once the communication network between the browser 106 and the remotedevice 114 is established, a plurality of channels can be establishedbetween the two. Each channel can in turn include a plurality ofconnections. For example, the communication network between the browser106 and the remote device 114 can include a video communication channel(VCC) 232. The VCC 232 can include a plurality of connections betweenthe browser 106 and the remote device 114 and can be used to transmit avideo stream of the display of the remote device 114 to the browser 106.The communication network between the browser 106 and the remote device114 can also include a data communication channel (DCC) 234. The DCC 234can include a plurality of connections between the browser 106 and theremote device 114 and be used to transmit the interactions the user 102inputs into the mirrored display of the remote device generated on thebrowser 106. The mirrored display can alternatively be described as areplica display of the remote device 114.

To generate a mirrored display of the remote device 114 on the browser106, the captured screenshots from a screen capturing application (SCA)208 can be assembled into a video stream and transmitted to the browser106. The process of assembling the screenshots from the SCA 208 to avideo stream may include performing video encoding, using variousencoding parameters. Encoding parameters may be dynamically modifiableor may be predetermined. As an example, the available bandwidth in VCC232 can vary depending on network conditions. In some embodiments, aframes-per-second encoding parameter can be adjusted based in part onthe available bandwidth in the VCC 232. For example, if a low bandwidthin VCC 232 is detected, the video stream constructed from the capturedscreenshots can be encoded with a downgraded frames-per-secondparameter, reducing the size of the video stream, and allowing aninterruption free (or reduced interruption) transmission of the livevideo stream from the remote device 114 to the browser 106.

Another example of dynamically modifying the encoding parameters includedynamically modifying, or modulating the encoding parameter, based onthe availability of hardware resources of the remote device, or thecapacity of the hardware resources of the remote device 114 that can beassigned to handle the encoding of the video stream. The CM 204 can usethe hardware resources of the remote device 114 in order to encode andtransmit the video stream to the browser 106. For example, CM 204 canuse the central processing unit (CPU) of the remote device 114, agraphics processing unit (GPU) or both to encode the video stream. Insome cases, these hardware resources can be in high usage, reducingtheir efficiency in encoding. The reduction in hardware resourcesavailability or capacity can introduce interruptions in the encoding. Insome embodiments, a frame rate sampling parameter of the encodingparameters can be modulated based on the availability or capacity ofhardware resources, such as the CPU and/or the GPU of the remote device114 that can be assigned to handle the encoding of the video stream. Forexample, if a high CPU usage is detected, when the CPU is to be taskedwith encoding, the CM 204 can reduce the sampling rate parameter of theencoding, so the CPU is not overburdened and interruptions in the videofeed are reduced or minimized.

The CM 204 can also configure the encoding parameters, based on selectedparameters at the browser 106. The browser 106 receives the video streamvia the VCC 232, decodes the video stream and displays in the videostream in a replica display of the remote device 114 on the browser 106.In some embodiments, a predetermined threshold frames-per-secondparameter of the video stream at the browser 106 can be selected. Thepredetermined threshold frames-per-second parameter can be based on apreselected level of quality of the video stream displayed on thereplica display. For example, in some embodiments, the predeterminedthreshold frames-per-second parameter at the browser can be set to avalue above 25 frames-per-second to generate a seamless and smoothmirroring of the display of the remote device 114 on the browser 106.The CM 204 can configure the encoding parameters at the remote device114 based on the predetermined threshold frames-per-second parameter setat the browser 106. For example, the CM 204 can encode the video streamwith a frame rate above 30 fps, so the decoded video stream at thebrowser 106 has a frames-per-second parameter above 25 fps.

In some embodiments, the screen capturing application (SCA) 208 can beused to capture screenshots from the remote device 114. The SCA 208 candiffer from device to device and its implementation and configurationcan depend on the processing power of the device and the mandates of theoperating system of the device regarding usage of the CPU/GPU incapturing and generating screenshots. For example, in Android®environment, the Android® screen capture application programminginterface (APIs) can be used. In iOS® devices, iOS® screen capture APIscan be used. Depending on the processing power of the selected remotedevice 114, the SCA 208 can be configured to capture screenshots at apredefined frames per second (fps) rate. Additionally, the SCA 208 canbe configured to capture more screenshots at the remote device 114 thanthe screenshots that are ultimately used at the browser 106. This istrue in scenarios where some captured screenshots are dropped due tovarious conditions, such as network delays and other factors. Forexample, in some embodiments, the SCA 208 can capture more than 30 fpsfrom the display of the remote device 114, while at least 20 fps or moreare able to make it to the browser 106 and shown to the user 102. In thecontext of packaging and assembling the captured screenshots into avideo stream transmitted to the browser 106, screenshots that arereceived out of order may need to be dropped to maintain a fluidexperience of the remote device 114 to the user 102. For example, thecaptured screenshots are streamed over a communication network to thebrowser 106, using various protocols, including internet protocol suite(TCP/IP), user datagram protocol, and/or others. When unreliabletransmission protocols are used, it is possible that some screenshotsarrive at browser 106 out of order. Out of order screenshots can bedropped to maintain chronology at the video stream displayed on browser106. Some captured screenshots might simply drop as a result of otherprocessing involved. For example, some screenshots may be dropped, dueto lack of encoding capacity, if heavy animation on the remote device114 is streamed to the browser 106. Consequently, in some embodiments,more screenshots are captured at the remote device 114 than areultimately shown to the user 102.

The upper threshold for the number of screenshots captured at the remotedevice 114 can depend, in part, on the processing power of the remotedevice 114. For example, newer remote devices 114 can capture morescreenshots than older or midmarket devices. The upper threshold for thenumber of screenshots can also depend on an expected bandwidth of acommunication network between the remote device 114 and the browser 106.

The SCA 208 can be a part of or make use of various hardware componentsof the remote device 114, depending on the type of the selected remotedevice 114, its hardware capabilities and its operating systemrequirements. For example, some Android® devices allow usage of thedevice's graphical processing unit (GPU), while some iOS® devices limitthe usage of GPU. For remote devices 114, where the operating systemlimits the use of GPU, the SCA 208 can utilize the central processingunit (CPU) of the remote device 114, alone or in combination with theGPU to capture and process the screenshots. The SCA 208 can beimplemented via the screen capture APIs of the remote device 114 or canbe independently implemented. Compared to command line screen capturetools, such as screencap command in Android®, the SCA 208 can beconfigured to capture screenshots in a manner that increases efficiencyand reliability of the RTS 100. For example, command line screenshottools, may capture high resolution screenshots, which can be unnecessaryfor the application of the RTS 100, and can slow down the encoding andtransmission of the video stream constructed from the screenshots.Consequently, the RTS 100 can be implemented via modified nativescreenshot applications, APIs or independently developed and configuredto capture screenshots of a resolution suitable for efficient encodingand transmission. As an example, using command line screen capturetools, a frames-per-second rate of only 4-5 can be achieved, which isunsuitable for mirroring the display of the remote device 114 on thebrowser 106 in a seamless manner. On the other hand, the describedembodiments achieve frames-per-second rates of above 20 frames persecond. In some embodiments, the CM 204 can down-sample the video streamobtained from the captured screenshots, from for example, a 4Kresolution to a 1080P resolution. Still, in older devices, thedown-sampling may be unnecessary, as the original resolution may be lowenough for efficient encoding and transmission.

In some embodiments, the remote device 114 and the browser 106 canconnect via a P2P network, powered by WebRTC. The CM 204 can theninclude a modified libjingle module. In the context of the RTS 100, therelationship between the browser 106 and the remote device 114 is moreof a client-server type relationship than a pure P2P relationship. Anexample of a pure P2P relationship is video teleconferencing, where bothparties transmit video to one another in equal and substantial size. Inthe context of the RTS 100, the transfer of video is from CM 204 to thebrowser 106, and no video is transmitted from the browser 106 to the CM204. Therefore, compared to a P2P libjingle, the CM 204 and itslibjingle module, as well as communication network parameters betweenthe browser 106 and the remote device 114, can be modified to optimizefor the transfer of video from the remote device 114 to the browser 106.An example modification of libjingle includes modifying theframes-per-second rate in favor of video transfer from the remote device114. Other aspects of encoding performed by libjingle module of the CM204 can include adding encryptions and/or other security measures to thevideo stream. When WebRTC is used to implement the communication networkbetween the remote device 114 and the browser 106, libjingle module ofthe CM 204 can encode the video stream in WebRTC format.

While FIG. 2 illustrates messaging lines directly to the CM 204, this isnot necessarily the case in all embodiments. In some implementations,the DCM 28, BCM 230, VCC 232, and DCC 234 can be routed through the host118. The communication network between the remote device 114 and thebrowser 106, having channels, VCC 232 and DCC 234 can be implementedover the internet via a WiFi connection at the datacenter 112 where theremote device 114 is located, or can be via an internet over universalserial bus (USB) via the host 118, or a combination of wired or wirelesscommunication to the internet. In some cases, one or more methods ofconnecting to the internet is used as a backup to a primary mode ofconnection to the internet and establishing the communication networkbetween the remote device 114 and the browser 106.

The CM 204 can receive, via the DCC 234, user interactions inputted tothe replica display on the browser 106. The CM 204 can route thereceived user interactions to an interaction server 206 for translationto a format compatible with the remote device 114. In a typical case,the user 102 runs the browser 106 on a laptop or desktop machine andinputs commands and interacts with the replica display on the browser106, using the input devices of the local machine 104. Input devices ofthe local machine 104 generate mouse or keyboard user interactions,which are captured and transferred to the CM 204. In some embodiments,JavaScripts® can be used to capture user interactions inputted in thereplica display on the browser 106. The captured user interactions arethen encoded in a format, compatible with the format of thecommunication network established between the browser 106 and the remotedevice 114. For example, if WebRTC is used, the user interactions areformatted in the WebRTC format and sent over the DCC 234 to the CM 204.

The CM 204 decodes and transfers the user interactions to theinteraction server 206. The interactions server 208 translates the mouseand keyboard user interactions to inputs compatible with the remotedevice 114. For example, when the remote device 114 is a mobile device,such as a smartphone or tablet having a touch screen as an input device,the interaction server 206 can translate keyboard and mouse inputs togestures, swipes, pinches, and other commands compatible with the remotedevice 114. The translation of user interactions to remote device inputsalso takes advantage of the coordinates of the inputs. For example, ameta data file accompanying the user interactions can note thecoordinates of the user interactions on the replica display on thebrowser 106. The meta data can also include additional display and inputdevice information of the user local machine 104 and the replica displayon the browser 106.

The interaction server 206 also maintains or has access to theresolution and setup of the display of the remote device 114 and canmake a conversion of a coordinate of an input on the replica displayversus a corresponding coordinate on the real display of the remotedevice 114. For example, in some embodiments, the interaction server 206can generate coordinate multipliers to map a coordinate in the replicadisplay on the browser 106 to a corresponding coordinate in the realdisplay of the remote device 114. The coordinate multipliers can begenerated based on the resolutions of the replica display and the realdisplay. The interaction server 206 then inputs the translated userinteractions to the remote device 114. The display output of the remotedevice 114 responding to the input of the translated user inputs arecaptured via the SCA 208, sent to the CM 204, encoded in a formatcompatible with the communication network between the remote device 114and the browser 106 (e.g., WebRTC) and sent to the browser 106. Thebrowser 106 decodes the received video stream, displaying the videostream in the replica display on the browser 106. The data flow over theDCC 234 and the VCC 232 happen simultaneously or near simultaneously, asfar as the perception of the user 102, allowing for a seamlessinteraction of the user 102 with the replica display, as if the remotedevice 114 were present at the location of the user 102.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart of a method 300 of enabling a remotesession at a first location using a remote device at a second location.The method 300 utilizes the RTS 100 as described above. The method 300starts at step 302. At step 304, the browser 106 at a first locationissues a request 220 to start a remote session at the first location,using a remote device at the second location. The request 220 caninclude a type/brand of a remote device, a browser to be opened on theremote device and a test URL to be accessed on the remote device. Atstep 306, the request 220 is received at a dashboard application of theRTS 100. The dashboard application may be locally installed, as adesktop application or may be a web application, accessible via a URLentered in the browser 106. The dashboard application can be powered bya server 110. At step 308, the server 110 can select a remote device 114from a plurality of remote devices at the second location. The selectionof the remote device is based on the user choice in the request 220. Theselected remote device 114 can launch the browser type/brand, asindicated in the request 220. The selected remote device 114 can accessthe test URL, as indicated in the request 220.

At step 310, the server 110 selects a communication initiation server(CIS) 202 to allow the browser 106 and the selected remote device 114 toestablish a connection. At step 312, both the browser 106 and the remotedevice 114 connect to the CIS 202, using the same test session ID. Atstep 314, the browser 106 and the remote device 114, via the CIS 202,exchange parameters of a communication network between the two. At step316, the browser 106 and the remote device 114 establish thecommunication network, using the exchanged parameters. The exchangedparameters can include the routes, ports, gateways, and other data viawhich the browser 106 and the remote device 114 can connect. Thecommunication network between the two includes a video channel, VCC 232and a data channel, DCC 234.

At step 318, a replica display of the selected remote device 114 isgenerated in the browser 106. The browser 106 can receive, via the videochannel, a video stream of the display output of the remote device 114and use that to generate the replica display. At step 320, userinteractions with the replica display are captured and transmitted, viathe data channel DCC 234 to the remote device 114. At step 322, the SCA208 captures screenshots of the display screen of the remote device 114.The CM 204 uses the captured screenshots to generate a video stream ofthe screen of the remote device 114. The CM 204 transmits, via the videochannel VCC 232, the video stream to the browser 106, which uses thevideo stream to generate the replica display. The method 300 ends atstep 324.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method 400 of an example operationof the RTS 100. The method 400 starts at step 402. At step 404, arequest to start a remote session using a remote device is received at adashboard application, powered by a server 110. The server 110 selects aCIS 202, a remote device 114 and issues a response to the browser 106.The response includes an identifier of the CIS 202 and an identifier ofthe test session. At step 406, the browser 106 and the remote device 114establish a communication network and connect to one another using thecommunication network. The remote device 114 connects to thecommunication network via a host 118.

At step 408, the CM 204 generates a video stream from the screenshotscaptured by the SCA 208, based on one or more encoding parameters. Anexample of the encoding parameters includes a frames-per-secondparameter of the encoding. At step 410, the CM 204 modules the encodingparameters based on one or more factors, including bandwidth of the VCC232, and available capacity of hardware resources of the remote device114 for encoding operations, including capacity of CPU and/or GPU of theremote device 114. The CM 204 can also modulate the encoding parametersbased on a predetermined minimum threshold of frames per second videostream decoded and displayed at the browser 106. At step 412, the CM 204transmits the video stream to the browser 106 to display. The method 400ends at step 414.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 of an example operationof the RTS 100. The method starts at step 502. At step 504, acommunication network is established between the browser 106 and theremote device 114. In some embodiments, the communication network can bea P2P, WebRTC. The CM 204 in the remote device 114 can handle thetranslation, encoding and data packaging for transmission over thecommunication network. At step 506, a data channel DCC 234 isestablished using the communication network. The data channel can beused to transmit user interactions entered into a replica display inbrowser 106 to the remote device 114. At step 508, the user interactionswith the replica display on browser 106 are captured and transmitted tothe CM 204. In some embodiments, the DCC 234 is through the host 118 andin other embodiments, a WiFi network at datacenter 112 where the remotedevice 114 is located can be used to connect the CM 204 and the browser106. The CM 204 transfers the user interactions to the interactionserver 206.

At step 510, the interaction server 206 translates the user interactionsto user inputs compatible with the remote device 114. For example, ifthe remote device 114 is a mobile computing device, such as a smartphoneor smart tablet, the interaction server 206 translates keyboard andmouse inputs to touch screen type inputs, such as taps, swipes, pinches,double tap, etc. The interaction server 206 may use coordinatemultipliers to translate the location of a user interaction to alocation on the display of the remote device 114. The coordinatemultipliers are derived from the ratio of the resolution and/or sizedifference between the replica display on the browser 106 and thedisplay screen of the remote device 114. At step 512, the user inputsare inputted into the remote device 114 at the correspondingcoordinates. The remote devices's display output response to the userinputs are captured via SCA 208, turned into a video stream andtransmitted to the browser 106. The browser 106 displays the videostream in the replica display. The method 500 ends at the step 514.

Example Implementation Mechanism—Hardware Overview

Some embodiments are implemented by a computer system or a network ofcomputer systems. A computer system may include a processor, a memory,and a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory andnon-transitory medium may store instructions for performing methods,steps and techniques described herein.

According to one embodiment, the techniques described herein areimplemented by one or more special-purpose computing devices. Thespecial-purpose computing devices may be hard-wired to perform thetechniques, or may include digital electronic devices such as one ormore application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs) that are persistently programmed toperform the techniques, or may include one or more general purposehardware processors programmed to perform the techniques pursuant toprogram instructions in firmware, memory, other storage, or acombination. Such special-purpose computing devices may also combinecustom hard-wired logic, ASICs, or FPGAs with custom programming toaccomplish the techniques. The special-purpose computing devices may beserver computers, cloud computing computers, desktop computer systems,portable computer systems, handheld devices, networking devices or anyother device that incorporates hard-wired and/or program logic toimplement the techniques.

For example, FIG. 6 is a block diagram that illustrates a computersystem 600 upon which an embodiment of can be implemented. Computersystem 600 includes a bus 602 or other communication mechanism forcommunicating information, and a hardware processor 604 coupled with bus602 for processing information. Hardware processor 604 may be, forexample, special-purpose microprocessor optimized for handling audio andvideo streams generated, transmitted or received in video conferencingarchitectures.

Computer system 600 also includes a main memory 606, such as a randomaccess memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled to bus 602for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor604. Main memory 606 also may be used for storing temporary variables orother intermediate information during execution of instructions to beexecuted by processor 604. Such instructions, when stored innon-transitory storage media accessible to processor 604, rendercomputer system 600 into a special-purpose machine that is customized toperform the operations specified in the instructions.

Computer system 600 further includes a read only memory (ROM) 608 orother static storage device coupled to bus 602 for storing staticinformation and instructions for processor 604. A storage device 610,such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, or solid state disk is providedand coupled to bus 602 for storing information and instructions.

Computer system 600 may be coupled via bus 602 to a display 612, such asa cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), organiclight-emitting diode (OLED), or a touchscreen for displaying informationto a computer user. An input device 614, including alphanumeric andother keys (e.g., in a touch screen display) is coupled to bus 602 forcommunicating information and command selections to processor 604.Another type of user input device is cursor control 616, such as amouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating directioninformation and command selections to processor 604 and for controllingcursor movement on display 612. This input device typically has twodegrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis(e.g., y), that allows the device to specify positions in a plane. Insome embodiments, the user input device 614 and/or the cursor control616 can be implemented in the display 612 for example, via atouch-screen interface that serves as both output display and inputdevice.

Computer system 600 may implement the techniques described herein usingcustomized hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmware and/orprogram logic which in combination with the computer system causes orprograms computer system 600 to be a special-purpose machine. Accordingto one embodiment, the techniques herein are performed by computersystem 600 in response to processor 604 executing one or more sequencesof one or more instructions contained in main memory 606. Suchinstructions may be read into main memory 606 from another storagemedium, such as storage device 610. Execution of the sequences ofinstructions contained in main memory 606 causes processor 604 toperform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments,hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware instructions.

The term “storage media” as used herein refers to any non-transitorymedia that store data and/or instructions that cause a machine tooperation in a specific fashion. Such storage media may comprisenon-volatile media and/or volatile media. Non-volatile media includes,for example, optical, magnetic, and/or solid-state disks, such asstorage device 610. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as mainmemory 606. Common forms of storage media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, solid state drive, magnetic tape, orany other magnetic data storage medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical datastorage medium, any physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, aPROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, NVRAM, any other memory chip orcartridge.

Storage media is distinct from but may be used in conjunction withtransmission media. Transmission media participates in transferringinformation between storage media. For example, transmission mediaincludes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including thewires that comprise bus 602. Transmission media can also take the formof acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-waveand infra-red data communications.

Various forms of media may be involved in carrying one or more sequencesof one or more instructions to processor 604 for execution. For example,the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk or solidstate drive of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 600 canreceive the data on the telephone line and use an infra-red transmitterto convert the data to an infra-red signal. An infra-red detector canreceive the data carried in the infra-red signal and appropriatecircuitry can place the data on bus 602. Bus 602 carries the data tomain memory 606, from which processor 604 retrieves and executes theinstructions. The instructions received by main memory 606 mayoptionally be stored on storage device 610 either before or afterexecution by processor 604.

Computer system 600 also includes a communication interface 618 coupledto bus 602. Communication interface 618 provides a two-way datacommunication coupling to a network link 620 that is connected to alocal network 622. For example, communication interface 618 may be anintegrated services digital network (ISDN) card, cable modem, satellitemodem, or a modem to provide a data communication connection to acorresponding type of telephone line. As another example, communicationinterface 618 may be a local area network (LAN) card to provide a datacommunication connection to a compatible LAN. Wireless links may also beimplemented. In any such implementation, communication interface 618sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals thatcarry digital data streams representing various types of information.

Network link 620 typically provides data communication through one ormore networks to other data devices. For example, network link 620 mayprovide a connection through local network 622 to a host computer 624 orto data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) 626.ISP 626 in turn provides data communication services through the worldwide packet data communication network now commonly referred to as the“Internet” 628. Local network 622 and Internet 628 both use electrical,electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams. Thesignals through the various networks and the signals on network link 620and through communication interface 618, which carry the digital data toand from computer system 600, are example forms of transmission media.

Computer system 600 can send messages and receive data, includingprogram code, through the network(s), network link 620 and communicationinterface 618. In the Internet example, a server 630 might transmit arequested code for an application program through Internet 628, ISP 626,local network 622 and communication interface 618. The received code maybe executed by processor 604 as it is received, and/or stored in storagedevice 610, or other non-volatile storage for later execution.

Some remote devices 114 do not provide a high-performance screenshotcapturing API, suitable for efficient operations of the RTS 100. On theother hand, some operating systems of the remote devices 114 can supporta video capturing API for the purposes of recording and/or broadcastingthe display of the remote device 114 in real time. In these scenarios,the SCA 208 can be implemented using a video capturing API of theoperating system of the remote device 114. As an example, for some iOS®devices, when the SCA 208 is implemented, using a native screenshotapplication, the FPS achieved on browser 106 can drop to as low as 5 FPSin some cases. At the same time, iOS® in some versions, provides a videocapturing facility, such as ReplayKit, which can be used to implementthe operations of the SCA 208. When a video capturing API is used,corresponding modifications to the data flow and operations of the RTS100 are also implemented as will be described below.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example data flow diagram 700 of the operations ofthe RTS 100, using a video capturing API for implementing the SCA 208.The diagram 700 is provided as an example. Persons of ordinary skill inthe art can modify the diagram 700, without departing from the spirit ofthe disclosed technology. Some platforms and operating systems mayprovide an API for capturing a video stream of the remote device 114.For example, iOS® provides such an API in ReplayKit. The captured videostream can be used to replicate the display of the remote device 114 inlieu of using static screenshots to generate the video stream. In somecases, the SCA 208 can be implemented using the video capturing APIprovided by the remote device 114. For example, a launcher applicationcan include a broadcaster extension, which can output a video stream ofthe display of the remote device 114. In other embodiments, a broadcastextension, broadcasting the video stream, can be an extension to alauncher application, which the host 118 uses to control the operationsof the remote device 114. Various implementations are possible. Some aredescribed below.

At step 702, the browser 106 can send a request 220 to start a remotesession to the server 110. At step 704, the server 110 can respond bysending a response 222 to the browser 106. At step 706, the server 110can send a SPM 224 to the host 118. At step 708, the host 118 can send amessage 226 to the CM 204. The steps 702-708 enable the remote device114 and the browser 106 to log in to a communication initiation server(CIS) 202 with the same credentials, such as a common remote sessionidentifier, thereafter, exchange communication network parameters, andestablish communication using the communication network.

At step 710, the CM 204 can signal a broadcaster 712 to launch and begincapturing a video stream of the display of the remote device 114. Asdescribed earlier, the broadcaster 712 can be a stand-alone applicationor can be an extension to a launcher application that the host 118 runson the remote device 114 to perform the operations of the RTS 100. Forexample, when ReplayKit is used, the ReplayKit API provides abroadcaster extension which can run as an extension of an applicationand provide a video stream of the display of the remote device 114 tothat application.

At this stage, the DCM 228 and the BCM 230 have already occurred betweenthe browser 106 and the CM 204, allowing the browser 106 and the CM 204to exchange network communication parameters via the CIS 202. Thenetwork communication parameters can include network pathways, servers,and routes via which the two can establish one or more futurecommunication networks. The browser 106 and the CM 204 establish acommunication network and connect using these network communicationparameters. At step 714, the CM 204 can establish a DCC 234 with thebrowser 106. The DCC 234 can be used in the future operations of the RTS100 to capture user interactions on the replica display generated on thebrowser 106 and transmit them to the remote device 114. At step 716, thehost can extract a requested URL and a type of browser from the user'sinitial request (at step 720) and launch the chosen browser on theremote device 114, with a request for the remote device browser toaccess the user requested URL.

At step 718, the broadcaster 712 can query the host 118 for session anduser data to determine where and how to establish a video channel tobroadcast the video stream feed of the display of the remote device 114.At step 720, the host 118 responds to the broadcaster 712 with sessionand user data. The session and user data can include an identifier ofthe session, a user identifier, network details, gates and ports,pathways or other information related to the remote session and/or thecommunication network established between the CM 204 and the browser106. At step 722, the broadcaster 712 can use the session and/or userdata, received at step 720, to establish the VCC 232 and beginbroadcasting the video stream of the display of the remote device 114 tothe browser 106. A dashboard application, executable on and/or by thebrowser 106, can generate a replica display of the remote device 114 onthe browser 106 and use the video stream received on the VCC 232 topopulate the replica display with a live video feed of the display ofthe remote device 114. In some implementations, the CM 204 can set up ormodify the encoding parameters of the video from the broadcaster 712.For example, the CM 204 can be configured to determine the bandwidth ofthe VCC 232 and modify the FPS encoding parameter of the video stream toincrease the likelihood of an efficient, stable and/or performant videostream on the browser-end. The dashboard application executable on thebrowser 106 can decode the video received on the VCC 232 and use thedecoded video to generate the replica display on the browser 106. Otherexamples of the CM 204 modifying the encoding parameters of the videosent on the VCC 232 are described above in relation to the perviousembodiments. The CM 204 can apply the same techniques to theembodiments, where a broadcaster 712 is used. As described earlier,having the VCC 232 consume a video stream, via the broadcaster 712, canoffer advantages, such as more efficient encoding, and having a higherand more stable FPS performance.

EXAMPLES

It will be appreciated that the present disclosure may include any oneand up to all of the following examples.

Example 1: a method of enabling a remote session at a first location,using a remote device 114 at a second location 112, the methodcomprising: issuing, from a browser 106 at the first location, a request220 to start a remote session at the first location, using a remotedevice 114 at the second location 112; receiving the request at adashboard application; selecting a remote device 114 from a plurality ofremote devices 114 at the second location; selecting a communicationinitiation server 202; connecting, via the communication initiationserver 202, the browser 106 and the remote device 114; exchanging, viathe communication initiation server 202, parameters of a communicationnetwork between the browser 106 and the selected remote device 114;establishing the communication network between the browser 106 and theselected remote device 114, wherein establishing the communicationnetwork further comprises establishing a video channel 232 and a datachannel 234; generating a replica display of the selected remote devicein the browser 106; capturing user interactions with the replicadisplay; transmitting the user interactions, via the data channel 234,to the selected remote device 114; capturing screenshots from a displayscreen of the selected remote device 114; generating a video stream fromthe captured screenshots; and transmitting the video stream, via thevideo channel 232, to the replica display in the browser 106.

Example 2: the method of Example 1, further comprising: in response tothe request 220 to start the remote session, issuing a response 222 tothe browser, the response 222 comprising an identifier of the selectedcommunication initiation server 202 and an identifier of the remotesession, and wherein connecting, via the communication initiation server202, further comprises: the browser 106 and the selected remote device114 connecting to the selected communication initiation server 202,using the identifier of the remote session.

Example 3: the method of some or all of examples 1 and 2, furthercomprising: sending a response 222 to the browser, the response 222comprising an identifier of the selected communication initiation server202 and an identifier of the remote session; sending a session parametermessage 224 to a host 118, at the second location 112, wherein the host118 is electrically connected to the selected remote device 114; andtransmitting, via the host 118, a message 226 to the selected remotedevice 114, wherein the session parameter message 224 and the message226 both comprise the identifier of the selected communicationinitiation server 202 and the identifier of the remote session.

Example 4: the method of some or all of the Examples 1-3, whereingenerating the video stream further comprises: encoding the video streambased on one or more encoding parameters, and, wherein the methodfurther comprises: decoding, by the browser 106, the received videostream and displaying the decoded video stream in the replica display inthe browser 106.

Example 5: the method of some or all of the Examples 1-4, wherein theencoding parameters further comprise a frames-per-second parameter ofthe video stream and the method further comprises: determining abandwidth of the video channel 232 and downgrading the frames-per-secondparameter of the video stream when the bandwidth is below apredetermined threshold.

Example 6: the method of some or all of the Examples 1-5, furthercomprising: modulating a frame rate sampling parameter of the encodingbased at least in part on capacity of a CPU and/or GPU of the remotedevice 114 available for encoding.

Example 7: the method of some or all of the Examples 1-6, furthercomprising: modifying the one or more encoding parameters, at the remotedevice 114, such that the decoded video stream at the replica display atthe browser 106 comprise a video stream having a frames-per-secondparameter above a predetermined threshold.

Example 8: the method of some or all of the Examples 1-7, wherein thecommunication network between the browser 106 and the remote device 114is a WebRTC network, and the encoding is performed by a modifiedlibjingle configured to receive the screenshots from a screenshotcapturing application.

Example 9: the method of some or all of the Examples 1-8, whereincapturing the screenshots is performed by screen capture APIs of theremote device 114.

Example 10: the method of some or all of the Examples 1-9, furthercomprising: translating the user interactions to remote device inputs;and inputting the remote device inputs to the remote device 114.

Example 11: the method of some or all of the Examples 1-10, whereintranslating further comprises: determining coordinates of the userinteractions in the replica display on the browser 106; and mapping thecoordinates of the user interactions in the replica display in thebrowser 106 to coordinates on the display screen of the remote device114.

Example 12: a non-transitory computer storage that stores executableprogram instructions that, when executed by one or more computingdevices, configure the one or more computing devices to performoperations comprising: issuing, from a browser 106 at a first location,a request to start a local testremote session at the first location,using a remote device 114 at a second location 112; receiving therequest 220 at a dashboard application; selecting a remote device 114from a plurality of remote devices 114 at the second location 112;selecting a communication initiation server 202; connecting, via thecommunication initiation server 202, the browser 106 and the remotedevice 114; exchanging, via the communication initiation server 202,parameters of a communication network between the browser 106 and theselected remote device 114; establishing the communication networkbetween the browser 106 and the selected remote device 114, whereinestablishing the communication network further comprises establishing avideo channel 232 and a data channel 234; generating a replica displayof the selected remote device 114 in the browser 106; capturing userinteractions with the replica display; transmitting the userinteractions, via the data channel 234, to the selected remote device114; capturing screenshots from a display screen of the selected remotedevice 114; generating a video stream from the captured screenshots; andtransmitting the video stream, via the video channel 232, to the replicadisplay in the browser 106.

Example 13: the non-transitory computer storage of Example 12, whereingenerating the video stream further comprises: encoding the video streambased on one or more encoding parameters, and, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: decoding, by the browser, the received video streamand displaying the decoded video stream in the replica display in thebrowser.

Example 14: the non-transitory computer storage some or all of theExamples 12 and 13, wherein the encoding parameters further comprise aframes-per-second parameter of the video stream and the operationsfurther comprise: determining a bandwidth of the video channel anddowngrading the frames-per-second parameter of the video stream when thebandwidth is below a predetermined threshold.

Example 15: the non-transitory computer storage of some or all of theExamples 12-14, wherein the operations further comprise: modulating aframe rate sampling parameter of the encoding based at least in part oncapacity of a CPU and/or GPU of the remote device available forencoding.

Example 16: a method comprising: issuing, from a browser at a firstlocation, a request to start a remote session at the first location,using a remote device at a second location; receiving the request tostart a session at a server; selecting, by the server, a remote device,from a plurality of remote devices at the second location; selecting, bythe server, a communication initiation server; transmitting anidentifier of the communication initiation server to a host, at thesecond location, the host coupled to the selected remote device at thesecond location; the host transmitting the identifier of thecommunication initiation server to the selected remote device;connecting, via the communication initiation server, the browser and theselected remote device; exchanging, via the communication initiationserver, parameters of a communication network between the browser andthe selected remote device; launching an application on the selecteddevice, the launched application broadcasting a video stream of thedisplay of the selected remote device; establishing the communicationnetwork between the browser and the selected remote device, whereinestablishing the communication network further comprises establishing avideo channel between the browser and the remote device via the host;generating a replica display of the selected remote device on thebrowser; transmitting the broadcast video stream, from the selectedremote device to the host and from the host to the browser, via thevideo channel; and displaying the broadcast video stream in the replicadisplay in the browser.

Example 17: the method of Example 16 further comprising: establishing adata channel via the communication network; capturing user interactionswith the replica display; and transmitting the user interactions, viathe data channel to the selected remote device.

Example 18: the method of some or all of Examples 16 and 17 furthercomprising: in response to the request to start the remote session,issuing a response to the browser, the response comprising an identifierof the selected communication initiation server and an identifier of theremote session, and wherein connecting, via the communication initiationserver, further comprises: the browser and the selected remote deviceconnecting to the selected communication initiation server, using theidentifier of the remote session.

Example 19: the method of some or all of Examples 16-18, furthercomprising: sending a response to the browser, the response comprisingan identifier of the selected communication initiation server and anidentifier of the remote session; sending a session parameter message tothe host, at the second location, wherein the host is electricallyconnected to the selected remote device; and transmitting, via the host,a message to the selected remote device, wherein the session parametermessage 224 and the message 226 both comprise the identifier of theselected communication initiation server 202 and the identifier of theremote session.

Example 20: the method of some or all of Examples 16-19, furthercomprising: encoding the broadcast video stream based on one or moreencoding parameters; decoding, by the browser, the received video streamand displaying the decoded video stream in the replica display in thebrowser.

Example 21: the method of some or all of Examples 16-20, wherein theencoding parameters further comprise a frames-per-second parameter ofthe video stream and the method further comprises: determining abandwidth of the video channel and downgrading the frames-per-secondparameter of the video stream when the bandwidth is below apredetermined threshold.

Example 22; the method of some or all of Examples 16-21, furthercomprising: modulating a frame rate sampling parameter of the encodingbased at least in part on capacity of a CPU and/or GPU, of the selectedremote device, available for encoding.

Example 23: a system comprising: a server configured to performoperations comprising: receiving a request issued from a user browser,the request comprising a request to start a remote session at a firstlocation, using a remote device at a second location; selecting a remotedevice, from a plurality of remote devices at the second location;selecting a communication initiation server; and transmitting anidentifier of the communication initiation server to a host, at thesecond location, the host coupled to the selected remote device at thesecond location; the host configured to perform operations comprising:transmitting the identifier of the communication initiation server tothe selected remote device; connecting, via the communication initiationserver, the browser and the selected remote device; exchanging, via thecommunication initiation server, parameters of a communication networkbetween the browser and the selected remote device; establishing thecommunication network between the browser and the selected remotedevice, wherein establishing the communication network further comprisesestablishing a video channel between the browser and the remote devicevia the host; launching an application on the selected device, thelaunched application broadcasting a video stream of the display of theselected remote device; and transmitting the broadcast video stream,from the selected remote device to the host and from the host to thebrowser, via the video channel; and a web application executable in thebrowser and configured to perform operations comprising: generating areplica display of the selected remote device on the browser; anddisplaying the broadcast video stream in the replica display in thebrowser.

Example 24: the system of Example 23, wherein the host is furtherconfigured establish a data channel via the communication networkbetween the browser and the selected remote device and the webapplication is further configured to capture user interactions with thereplica display and transmit the user interactions, via the data channelto the selected remote device.

Example 25: the system of some or all of Examples 23 and 24, wherein theserver is further configured to perform operations comprising: inresponse to the request to start the remote session, issuing a responseto the browser, the response comprising an identifier of the selectedcommunication initiation server and an identifier of the remote session,and wherein connecting, via the communication initiation server, furthercomprises: the browser and the selected remote device connecting to theselected communication initiation server, using the identifier of theremote session.

Example 26: the system of some or all of Examples 23-25, wherein theserver is further configured to perform operations comprising: sending aresponse to the browser, the response comprising an identifier of theselected communication initiation server and an identifier of the remotesession; sending a session parameter message to the host, at the secondlocation, wherein the host is electrically connected to the selectedremote device; and wherein the host is further configured to performoperations comprising: transmitting a message to the selected remotedevice, wherein the session parameter message and the message bothcomprise the identifier of the selected communication initiation serverand the identifier of the remote session.

Example 27: the system of some or all of Examples 23-26, furthercomprising a communication module configured to encode the broadcastvideo stream based on one or more encoding parameters, and wherein theweb application is configured to decode the received video stream anddisplay the decoded video stream in the replica display in the browser.

Example 28: the system of some or all of Examples 23-27, wherein theencoding parameters further comprise a frames-per-second parameter ofthe video stream and the communication module is further configured todetermine a bandwidth of the video channel and downgrade theframes-per-second parameter of the video stream when the bandwidth isbelow a predetermined threshold.

Example 29: the system of some or all of Examples 23-28, wherein thecommunication module is further configured to modulate a frame ratesampling parameter of the encoding based at least in part on capacity ofa CPU and/or GPU, of the selected remote device, available for encoding.

Example 30: a non-transitory computer storage that stores executableprogram instructions that, when executed by one or more computingdevices, configure the one or more computing devices to performoperations comprising: issuing, from a browser at a first location, arequest to start a remote session at the first location, using a remotedevice at a second location;

-   -   receiving the request to start a session at a server; selecting,        by the server, a remote device, from a plurality of remote        devices at the second location; selecting, by the server, a        communication initiation server; transmitting an identifier of        the communication initiation server to a host, at the second        location, the host coupled to the selected remote device at the        second location; the host transmitting the identifier of the        communication initiation server to the selected remote device;        connecting, via the communication initiation server, the browser        and the selected remote device; exchanging, via the        communication initiation server, parameters of a communication        network between the browser and the selected remote device;        launching an application on the selected device, the launched        application broadcasting a video stream of the display of the        selected remote device; establishing the communication network        between the browser and the selected remote device, wherein        establishing the communication network further comprises        establishing a video channel between the browser and the remote        device via the host; generating a replica display of the        selected remote device on the browser; transmitting the        broadcast video stream, from the selected remote device to the        host and from the host to the browser, via the video channel;        and displaying the broadcast video stream in the replica display        in the browser.

Example 31: the non-transitory computer storage of Example 30, whereinthe operations further comprise: establishing a data channel via thecommunication network; capturing user interactions with the replicadisplay; and transmitting the user interactions, via the data channel tothe selected remote device.

Example 32: the non-transitory computer storage of some or all ofExamples 30 and 31, wherein the operations further comprise: in responseto the request to start the remote session, issuing a response to thebrowser, the response comprising an identifier of the selectedcommunication initiation server and an identifier of the remote session,and wherein connecting, via the communication initiation server, furthercomprises: the browser and the selected remote device connecting to theselected communication initiation server, using the identifier of theremote session.

Example 33: the non-transitory computer storage of some or all ofExamples 30-32, wherein the operations further comprise: sending aresponse to the browser, the response comprising an identifier of theselected communication initiation server and an identifier of the remotesession; sending a session parameter message to the host, at the secondlocation, wherein the host is electrically connected to the selectedremote device; and transmitting, via the host, a message to the selectedremote device, wherein the session parameter message and the messageboth comprise the identifier of the selected communication initiationserver and the identifier of the remote session.

Example 34: the non-transitory computer storage of some or all ofExamples 30-33, wherein the operations further comprise: encoding thebroadcast video stream based on one or more encoding parameters;decoding, by the browser, the received video stream and displaying thedecoded video stream in the replica display in the browser.

Example 35: the non-transitory computer storage of some or all ofExamples 30-34, wherein the encoding parameters further comprise aframes-per-second parameter of the video stream and the operationsfurther comprise: determining a bandwidth of the video channel anddowngrading the frames-per-second parameter of the video stream when thebandwidth is below a predetermined threshold.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to specific embodiments thereof, it should be understood thatchanges in the form and details of the disclosed embodiments may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention. Although variousadvantages, aspects, and objects of the present invention have beendiscussed herein with reference to various embodiments, it will beunderstood that the scope of the invention should not be limited byreference to such advantages, aspects, and objects. Rather, the scope ofthe invention should be determined with reference to patent claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: issuing, from a browser at afirst location, a request to connect to a remote device at a secondlocation; selecting the remote device, from a plurality of remotedevices at the second location, the plurality of the remote devicescoupled to a host; selecting a communication initiation server;transmitting an identifier of the communication initiation server to thehost, at the second location; transmitting the identifier of thecommunication initiation server to the selected remote device;connecting, via the communication initiation server, the browser and theselected remote device; exchanging, via the communication initiationserver, parameters of a communication network between the browser andthe selected remote device; establishing the communication networkbetween the browser and the selected remote device, based on theexchanged parameters of the communication network; generating a replicadisplay of the selected remote device on the browser; broadcasting avideo stream of a display of the selected remote device; transmittingthe broadcast video stream, from the selected remote device to thebrowser, via the communication network; and displaying the broadcastvideo stream in the replica display in the browser.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the communication network comprises a videocommunication channel established between the browser and the selectedremote device, wherein transmitting the broadcast video stream is viathe video communication channel.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: encoding the video stream before broadcasting the videostream; and dynamically modifying the encoding parameters, based in parton one or more of a bandwidth of the communication network between thebrowser and the selected remote device and hardware capacity of theselected remote device.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thecommunication network comprises a data channel, wherein the methodfurther comprises: capturing user interactions with the replica display;and transmitting the user interactions, via the data channel to theselected remote device.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectedremote device comprises a touch screen and the method further comprises:capturing user interactions with the replica display; transmitting theuser interactions to the selected remote device; and translating theuser interactions to corresponding touch screen inputs compatible withthe selected remote device.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein theselected remote device comprises a touch screen, and the method furthercomprises: capturing user interactions with the replica display;transmitting the user interactions to the selected remote device;translating the user interactions to corresponding touch screen inputscompatible with the selected remote device; generating coordinatemultipliers based on relative resolutions of the replica display and thedisplay of the selected remote device; determining input coordinates inthe display of the selected remote device corresponding to thecoordinates of the captured user interactions in the replica display,based at least in part on the generated coordinate multipliers; andinputting the touch screen inputs into the selected remote device, basedat least in part on the determined input coordinates.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein selecting the remote device further comprises receivinga selection of one or more of a type of the remote device, brand of theremote device, operating system of the remote device, version of theoperating system of the remote device, a remote browser brand, a remotebrowser version, and a selected uniform resource locator (URL).
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the plurality of the remote devices and thehost, at the second location are resident in a datacenter of a pluralityof hosts, each host coupled to a plurality of similar and/or diverseremote devices.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein broadcasting the videostream comprises receiving the video stream from an applicationprogramming interface (API) of an operating system of the selectedremote device.
 10. A non-transitory computer storage that storesexecutable program instructions that, when executed by one or morecomputing devices, configure the one or more computing devices toperform operations comprising: issuing, from a browser at a firstlocation, a request to connect to a remote device at a second location;selecting the remote device, from a plurality of remote devices at thesecond location, the plurality of the remote devices coupled to a host;selecting a communication initiation server; transmitting an identifierof the communication initiation server to the host, at the secondlocation; transmitting the identifier of the communication initiationserver to the selected remote device; connecting, via the communicationinitiation server, the browser and the selected remote device;exchanging, via the communication initiation server, parameters of acommunication network between the browser and the selected remotedevice; establishing the communication network between the browser andthe selected remote device, based on the exchanged parameters of thecommunication network; generating a replica display of the selectedremote device on the browser; broadcasting a video stream of a displayof the selected remote device; transmitting the broadcast video stream,from the selected remote device to the browser, via the communicationnetwork; and displaying the broadcast video stream in the replicadisplay in the browser.
 11. The non-transitory computer storage of claim10, wherein the communication network comprises a video communicationchannel established between the browser and the selected remote device,wherein transmitting the broadcast video stream is via the videocommunication channel.
 12. The non-transitory computer storage of claim10, wherein the operations further comprise: encoding the video streambefore broadcasting the video stream; and dynamically modifying theencoding parameters, based in part on one or more of a bandwidth of thecommunication network between the browser and the selected remote deviceand hardware capacity of the selected remote device.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer storage of claim 10, wherein the communicationnetwork comprises a data channel, wherein the operations furthercomprise: capturing user interactions with the replica display; andtransmitting the user interactions, via the data channel to the selectedremote device.
 14. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 10,wherein the selected remote device comprises a touch screen and theoperations further comprise: capturing user interactions with thereplica display; transmitting the user interactions to the selectedremote device; and translating the user interactions to correspondingtouch screen inputs compatible with the selected remote device.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer storage of claim 10, wherein the selected remotedevice comprises a touch screen, and the operations further comprise:capturing user interactions with the replica display; transmitting theuser interactions to the selected remote device; translating the userinteractions to corresponding touch screen inputs compatible with theselected remote device; generating coordinate multipliers based onrelative resolutions of the replica display and the display of theselected remote device; determining input coordinates in the display ofthe selected remote device corresponding to the coordinates of thecaptured user interactions in the replica display, based at least inpart on the generated coordinate multipliers; and inputting the touchscreen inputs into the selected remote device, based at least in part onthe determined input coordinates.
 16. The non-transitory computerstorage of claim 10, wherein selecting the remote device furthercomprises receiving a selection of one or more of a type of the remotedevice, brand of the remote device, operating system of the remotedevice, version of the operating system of the remote device, a remotebrowser brand, a remote browser version, and a selected uniform resourcelocator (URL).
 17. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 10,wherein the plurality of the remote devices and the host, at the secondlocation are resident in a datacenter of a plurality of hosts, each hostcoupled to a plurality of similar and/or diverse remote devices.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer storage of claim 10, wherein broadcasting thevideo stream comprises receiving the video stream from an applicationprogramming interface (API) of an operating system of the selectedremote device.
 19. A system comprising one or more processors, whereinthe one or more processors are configured to perform operationscomprising: issuing, from a browser at a first location, a request toconnect to a remote device at a second location; selecting the remotedevice, from a plurality of remote devices at the second location, theplurality of the remote devices coupled to a host; selecting acommunication initiation server; transmitting an identifier of thecommunication initiation server to the host, at the second location;transmitting the identifier of the communication initiation server tothe selected remote device; connecting, via the communication initiationserver, the browser and the selected remote device; exchanging, via thecommunication initiation server, parameters of a communication networkbetween the browser and the selected remote device; establishing thecommunication network between the browser and the selected remotedevice, based on the exchanged parameters of the communication network;generating a replica display of the selected remote device on thebrowser; broadcasting a video stream of a display of the selected remotedevice; transmitting the broadcast video stream, from the selectedremote device to the browser, via the communication network; anddisplaying the broadcast video stream in the replica display in thebrowser.
 20. The system of claim 18, wherein the selected remote devicecomprises a touch screen and the operations further comprise: capturinguser interactions with the replica display; transmitting the userinteractions to the selected remote device; and translating the userinteractions to corresponding touch screen inputs compatible with theselected remote device.